Vincenzio Sodi

Vincenzio Sodi was a builder of keyboard instruments active in Florence, according to sources between 1778 and 1792. His work belongs to Italy in the last third of the eighteenth century, when the harpsichord remained common and the piano was beginning to gain ground, and for this reason it is relevant to understanding that transition.

Harpsichords by him dated between 1778 and 1798 survive. They have a heavy case but lack the double false case found in some comparable Italian instruments. Several incorporate double-bodied jacks with hard and soft leather plectra, in the manner of the Cembalo angelico, and in some cases the influence of southern Germany can be seen in the S-shaped side curves and sloping sides. His activity as a piano maker is documented by a description published in 1786 and by two grand pianos dated 1786 and 1789, held in American private collections. In them he retained features of his usual harpsichord technique, although he took as his model the case and action of J.A. Stein.

The latest surviving instrument from his workshop dates from 1791-92 and bears production number 93 or 95, which makes it one of the last historical Italian harpsichords to have survived to the present day. His legacy is above all documentary and material: his instruments allow the final phase of Italian harpsichord construction to be studied.